


Where I Sleep Tonight

by crazygirlne



Series: Where I Sleep Tonight [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Background pairing(s), F/M, Fix-It, Leo Snart is happily with The Ray, Leonard Snart is Alive, Post-Crisis on Earth-X, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 09:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazygirlne/pseuds/crazygirlne
Summary: On another Earth, Sara finds something she never expected: Leonard Snart, the version who traveled on the Waverider with her, is still alive and well.





	Where I Sleep Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, spoilers for the crossover follow, even just in the author's note, so stop reading right now if you haven’t seen and are avoiding spoilers. If you’ve watched or don’t care, have some post-crossover Captain Canary fic.
> 
> Right, so, I don’t feel like anything that happened in the crossover affected Captain Canary’s future chances in the slightest. For one, we see that any version of Snart likes Sara enough to be flirty, even if he’s in a relationship. Additionally, this wasn’t our Len; it was Earth-X’s Leo. Lastly, it’s the CW; being in a relationship already means nothing.
> 
> Less relevant to Captain Canary but still relevant when talking Leo: Leo Snart and Ray Terrill are super sweet and adorable together and I want them forever happy.
> 
> ANYWAY. I’ve said and will continue to stand by the fact that I’ll never give up on Captain Canary. They can’t do anything that will make Captain Canary impossible, if only in fic, and it’s a TIME TRAVEL SHOW WITH MULTIPLE EARTHS.
> 
> Ahem. Anyway.

Earth Prime’s Leonard Snart never died.

Oh, everyone thought he did, and he ceased to exist for some time.

On his native planet, at any rate.

After their encounter with Earth-X’s irredeemable ruling members, the Legends thought it prudent to check out many of the other 51 or so Earths they hadn’t yet seen, to make sure that there were no other immediate dangers like Earth-X. They worked with Cisco Ramon, Felicity Smoak, and Harrison Wells to devise a safe, reliable way to get the Waverider to the other Earths. Mostly, in theory, they stayed out of the way of the inhabitants, especially ones who seemed unaware of interdimensional travel.

“It’s like the Prime Directive,” Ray interrupted. “Like from Star Trek.”

Sara narrowed her eyes but nodded. “We don’t want to do anything that’s going to change the course of the future for people we interact with, not if we can help it.”

They don’t visit the planets in numerical order, not that Sara ever understood how they earned those designations in the first place. Instead, they use Gideon’s algorithms, visiting the most likely problem Earths first. It’s not as exciting as she sort of expected. They’re not trying to fix every Earth, not trying to interfere with things that won’t spill over to Earth Prime, not trying to tell other people how to live.

Except, well… They’re Legends. They’re nothing if not a passionate team, and there’s typically at least one member who can’t see a particular injustice done without fixing it, if at all possible. It’s a given that the rest of the team backs them up, once one has committed.

So it’s not like their visits are entirely uneventful, despite trying to stay uninvolved, but they don’t _go_ with the intent to change things. There’s always a piece of her trying to be the responsible leader, too, which cuts down on the, “Hey, a new place to explore!” variety of excitement.

On the eighth Earth they visit (the eighth that’s far better than Earth-X), as soon as they exit the Waverider, they’re greeted by a familiar drawl.

“Been wondering when you lot would show up.”

“Leo?” It’s the first word out of her mouth, but by the time she’s finished saying it, Sara already knows this isn’t the man who’s helped them on a few missions, always heading back home afterward. This man, this Leonard Snart, has the goggles she remembers from the Waverider, as well as the dark, lighter-weight jacket.

The unimpressed look before he responds is also familiar. “Leo? I haven’t gone by that name in decades.” He scans the team’s faces before returning his gaze to Sara. “Expected Rip to track me down ages ago. I’ve been waiting since the Oculus.” Leonard pauses. “Sort of.”

Sara watches and listens as everything devolves into chaos, with people trying to pull Leonard in for hugs and asking him how he’s alive, until she steps in.

“Alright, this isn’t helping anyone. Ray, Amaya, you go check out that potential disturbance. Jax, Zari, Nate, our standard recon. Mick, you can go with Ray and Amaya or join us.” She turns to Leonard. “Let’s go talk on the ship.”

There’s a chorus of acknowledgements (during which she sees Leonard take note of her title as captain), and then the team splits, Mick heading back into the Waverider but detouring to get a drink. When Sara and Leonard reach the bridge, she turns to face him.

“Talk.”

He smirks, because of course he does. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he practically purrs before leaning casually against the nearest wall. “What would you like me to say?”

Sara takes in a slow breath, letting it out purposefully. “Gideon,” she directs, “who am I talking to?”

“You’re talking to Leonard Snart of Earth Prime, Captain. He was with us at the Oculus.”

Thank God the AI understood exactly what she was asking. “Thanks, Gideon.” She watches Leonard, whose expression is unchanged as he waits. “We were on a team together, and we went to take out the Oculus, and you died.” He gives a curt nod. “What happened after that?”

He straightens and comes closer, leaning instead on a table that puts him just shy of in her personal space. It’s enough that she feels herself tense, though she wouldn’t quite say the tension is all bad. “The Oculus didn’t kill me, clearly, but it sent me through a portal to a different Earth. Took me a while to figure out what had happened, that I wasn’t on our Earth. Thought I might’ve just ended up in a different future, present, whatever. But then it happened again, a few months later, when I’d started to settle in: a portal opened, I went through, and I was on another Earth.”

“You went through a breach not knowing what would happen?” Sara crosses her arms.

Leonard shrugs a shoulder. “Figured it was either the Waverider or Team Flash trying to get me back. When nobody came through, I thought I’d see what was on the other side.”

“What happened next?”

“The same,” he says. “That next Earth didn’t quite suit me, so when the portal opened, I went through again.”

“How many times did that happen?”

Leonard looks down at his hands. “About ten times, depending whether or not you count the Oculus. The last time was just a few weeks back.”

“And you don’t know why the portal kept opening or who was opening it?” Sara frowns when he shakes his head. “Gideon, any help here?”

“According to my scans, Mr. Snart collected an unusual amount of the energy needed to travel through time and space. This can, under the right circumstances, be applied to travel across dimensions, as well.” The ship sounds either troubled or confused as she continues. “The levels surrounding him are growing, slowly but measurably. It’s theoretically impossible, but I can only hypothesize that when they reach a certain threshold, it opens a small wormhole to another world. The action depletes the particles, which then take a few months to fully recharge.”

Mick chooses that moment to come into the bridge, beer (probably not his first) in hand. “Sounds like we need to go see that kid who runs the computers for Flash.”

“Ramon?” Leonard clarifies.

Sara is proud to say she avoids rolling her eyes at either of them. “Cisco is sort of the closest thing we’ve got to an expert on interdimensional travel. He works with Harry, and they usually figure stuff out. If anyone can get breaches to stop opening up around you, that’s where we need to go.” She pauses. “Assuming you want them to stop.”

“I’ve had my fair share of spontaneous traveling, thanks,” he tells her. “I figured Rip was still in charge, but I was still ready to come back a while ago. Thought he was just taking a bit to track me down.”

“We thought you were dead,” Sara says. She knows it isn’t a surprise to him, and she feels a pang of sympathy, remembering what it was like to be left behind for years, knowing (because she was certain, for most of it) that nobody was coming to get her, making a choice between unrealistic hope or forgetting. She’d chosen to forget. Obviously Leonard had, somehow, clung to hope, at least on some level.

“And Rip hasn’t been captain for years,” Mick adds. “He left. Sara took over. She’s better at it.”

“I believe it,” Leonard says. He finally drags his attention from her and fully to Mick. “Hello, partner.”

Sara lets the two of them catch up while she finally takes a moment to evaluate her own reaction to Leonard’s reappearance.

It doesn’t help.

She feels like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. Leonard is gone, is dead, just like Laurel. Anyone who looks like either of them is a doppelganger, with things in common but not the same person. Leonard can’t possibly be standing here in front of her, and there’s no reason for her to let herself feel…

Anything.

***

While he’s talking to Mick, Leonard can feel Sara watching him. She looks cool and collected, self-confident in a way she occasionally struggled with before, thanks to the blood lust. She’s also looking at him like he’s going to disappear at any moment, and she’s just waiting for that to happen so she can move on with her life.

It stings, a little. Mick seems better off, unsurprised at and unconcerned by Leonard’s reappearance, at least after he’s had a couple drinks.

It’s not until hours later, when the team is back and the Waverider has moved back to their Earth and their version of STAR Labs, that he’s reminded of how Sara addressed him outside the Waverider.

“Leo!” Cisco Ramon greets him cheerfully when he, Mick, and Sara walk into the Cortex. “I didn’t realize you were back in town. How’s it going?”

“‘Leo,’” he murmurs. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

Cisco squints at him until Sara speaks up. “This isn’t Leo. It’s Leonard.”

“You didn’t pick up another Snart from another Earth, did you?” Cisco asks. “Because I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Just because we lucked out with the last one...”

“Len?”

Leonard turns to see Barry Allen looking at him with all the emotion he’d half-expected to see from Sara. The younger man looks near tears as his expression of shock is replaced by an overly-large grin.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” Barry continues, walking toward him, but his tone makes it clear he already knows.

And yet, he reaches out like he’s going to hug Leonard. Len reaches automatically for a cold gun he’s not carrying (he’ll need to rectify that, clearly), and Barry stops, dropping his arms but not the smile.

“It’s me,” Leonard answers, scanning the faces in the room. At least he’s picked up enough information to put together the pieces. “I take it ‘Leo’ is a version of me from another Earth?”

“Yeah,” Barry answers, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry I tried to…. Leo likes hugs.”

Leonard is glad Barry didn’t take the silent refusal too badly. It’s nothing against Barry, and if Leonard _had_ to hug somebody, a few of the people in this room would be near the top of his list. Hugging just isn’t something he does.

It’s Harrison Wells who finally breaks the too-happy silence. “Is nobody going to ask how he’s, I don’t know, _alive_?”

Leonard repeats his explanation from earlier, pausing a few times for clarification from one member or another of Team Flash. Something seems to click for the engineer at Leonard’s description of Earth-hopping.

“Oh!” Cisco snaps his fingers. “Sort of like Sliders!”

Leonard smirks despite himself. “Sort of.”

More than sort of, perhaps, but Cisco takes it as the confirmation it is, so Leonard continues, pausing for Mick to supply the information they got from Gideon, then stopping when he reaches the current day.

“How’d you know where to find the Waverider?” Sara asks him. “You were waiting for us like you knew.”

“The ship landed practically on top of me,” Leonard says.

“Like matter,” Harry supplies, “does often attract like. It’s possible the energy emitting from you, Leonard, was enough to pull the Waverider to you as it crossed the breach to that particular Earth.”

“Fantastic,” Leonard says dryly. “Good to know I should watch for time ships landing on my head.”

“Only until we fix it,” Caitlin supplies helpfully.

The team gets to work. Leonard watches and listens, because this might not be his area of expertise, but it’s happening to _him,_ and he’d like to know everything he can, just like he did when he first got the cold gun.

He looks at Sara and Mick, who are chatting with each other across the room. He considers going to ask them about his gun, but he hesitates.

The two of them have gotten close. Not in a romantic way, he’s reasonably certain, but closer than he expected. They stand and talk like they trust and respect each other, and it should make him happy that they aren't miserable. On some level, it does.

It also makes him feel inexplicably left out. It's not like he expected everything and everyone to be exactly how he left them, but he'd been… He'd had people, before he “died,” and now things are different.

His gaze has drawn Sara’s attention, and there's a flicker of real emotion there as she meets his eyes. He considers a smirk to break the sudden seriousness of the moment, but she holds his stare, and it suddenly feels like less time has passed, like maybe not so much has changed.

It was like that from the start with Sara, though. They’ve always had the ability to click, to fall into each other’s orbits. They weren't in love, by the time he left, but there was the possibility of it. That was where it was heading, and it was terrifying enough that he’d had to face it head on. She hadn't seemed opposed to the possibility so much as the timing, and before they could get the timing right, he died.

At least, as far as she knew.

Now, she gives him the smallest of smiles before finally looking away, and it feels like a promise, feels like she hasn't forgotten where they were, like they can get there again.

Leonard turns his attention back to Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells. He can ask about his cold gun later.

Before later comes, though, there's an interruption in the form of a visitor.

“Barry, great to see you.” The drawl, the voice, both are familiar, and when Leonard turns, he sees himself hugging the Scarlet Speedster.

“Leo!” The welcoming chorus from Team Flash is warm and genuine.

“Well, well,” Leo says, turning his attention to Leonard and looking him up and down. “Isn't this intriguing.” When Leonard merely raises an eyebrow in return, Leo grins and turns to Cisco. “Sorry to interrupt whatever’s going on here.”

“Actually,” Cisco responds, “you’re not interrupting. A fresh sample of what Leonard Snart’s DNA should look like without all this interference would speed things up a lot.”

The team fills Leo in while Dr. Snow gets a blood sample. Leonard watches as his double interacts easily with all of them. There’s affectionate joking and casual flirtation, and the other man doesn’t hesitate to touch or be touched. Leonard isn’t entirely sure whether he’s repulsed or jealous. Sara and Mick have even moved closer, both relaxed around his doppelganger in a way he hadn’t expected.

He watches particularly closely any time Leo interacts with Sara or Mick. With Mick, his counterpart is teasing but careful, treating the bigger man like he _matters_ to him. With Sara, the idle flirtation seems a touch more pointed than it is with most of the others. There’s still no real intent, but every time Sara brushes it off, clearly unbothered, she glances toward Leonard.

A few minutes after Leo catches one of these glances, he gives Leonard a thoughtful look and then approaches him.

“Hello, counterpart. Let’s have a chat, shall we?” Leo’s tone makes it clear he’s not really _asking._ While Leonard thinks maybe he could take himself in a fight, he doesn’t feel like causing another stir at the moment. He turns and leaves the Cortex, Leo on his heels.

“What do you want?” Leonard asks once they’re far enough away they shouldn’t be overheard.

“Just to talk.” Leo’s tone matches his body language; he’s open and caring. How he manages that along with his trademark drawl, Leonard isn’t sure.

“About what?” he bites.

“Sara Lance.” Leo pauses, nodding at whatever he sees in Leonard’s eyes. “You’re not going to hurt her.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Leonard retorts.

“I know,” Leo answers calmly. “But you did. You threatened her, and then you told her you were interested, and then you died. Sara is strong, and she got past it. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.”

“How do–” Leonard studies Leo. “She told you this?”

“She’s told me enough that I know you still have the power to hurt her. First time I brought a deck of cards, I thought she was gonna deck _me._ ” He smirks at the pun, then continues. “Instead, we talked. It got to be something of a habit. She doesn’t have many people to talk to as equals, rather than as captain to team.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Leonard asks.

“She still cares about you,” Leo answers. “And I know myself well enough that I’m confident you feel the same. Keeping your distance like you’re doing so far today? That’s only gonna hurt you both.” He claps Leonard on the shoulder, squeezing as if to underscore his point, then turns and walks back to the Cortex, leaving Leonard alone with his thoughts.

***

Team Flash is able to get Leonard’s dimensional instability fixed pretty easily just a couple hours after Leo shows up. At some point while they’re waiting, Leo and Leonard go off for a chat, and when they come back, Leonard seems distracted.

Sara can’t help watching him. As the hours since his arrival pass, Leonard has stopped seeming like an apparition. The way he’s been looking at her every time he meets her eye, it’s too familiar, too real.

It’s too _him_ for her to still be entertaining doubts.

Unfortunately, the fading doubts make room for Sara to remember how she feels about Leonard Snart from Earth Prime. She feels that familiar pull, the one she wasn't always even conscious of until he was gone. Having Leo there doesn't help; instead, it simply highlights the differences for her.

Leo is comfortable. He's someone she is fond of and considers a friend, if one who comes and goes at random intervals. It's different with him. He could have been more, maybe, if he weren't head over heels for his boyfriend, but instead, they settled into friendship, with much of the trust she had for Len and almost none of the attraction.

Things were never _just_ comfortable with Len. Oh, they could relax together, sure, but there was always that undercurrent of attraction. And now, there's the memory of how his lips felt against hers in those last, desperate moments.

Plus there's just… Things could've been good between her and Leonard, _were_ good between them, and now he's back.

She's thinking about that when Team Flash hits Leonard with a specific wavelength of light and energy and successfully neutralizes his problem, and when he looks at her afterward, her breath catches for a moment. His eyes are on her again when she hugs Leo goodbye a little later, and somehow it's not a surprise that Leonard follows her to her room when they get back to the Waverider.

Sara isn't sure what to say, and he's leaning against her doorway in a way that's painfully familiar while he waits for her to speak. After a few seconds, she retrieves a deck of cards from a drawer near her bed. She tosses it to him, and he catches it easily, raising his eyebrow until she gets comfortable on her bed, sitting with her legs crossed, facing the foot of the bed. Leonard joins her, one leg folded and the other dangling over the edge of the bed.

He starts dealing the cards, breaking the silence before she decides what to say. “Leo certainly is… affectionate.”

Sara feels some of the tension leave her. She has the cards to focus on, and she's happy to talk about Leo. He's easier than anything else they might talk about.

“He is. It took some getting used to.”

“He's like that with everyone?” Leonard asks.

“Not quite, but with people he cares about.” She smiles to herself. “You should see him with Ray.”

“Palmer?” His voice drips with disbelief. “Surely not even my doppelganger is willing to cuddle with the boy scout.”

Sara chuckles. “No, a different Ray. His boyfriend. If you think Leo is affectionate with us, you should see him with someone he loves.”

“He's in love with his boyfriend,” Leonard murmurs to himself. “I'm shocked.”

Sara watches him over her cards. “Surprised you're with another man?”

He looks up at her, holds her gaze. “No. Surprised I'm happy and in love. It's good to know it's possible.” He tenses for a moment like he’s said more than he meant to, then relaxes, the corners of his mouth tugging upward. “That it's with a man doesn't surprise me.”

“No?” She's able to keep her tone light. She'd like to hear more, but it doesn't change her perception of him and isn't something she needs to know if he doesn't want to share.

“You and me have a few things in common,” he responds.

“‘You and me,’” she echoes. She studies him, then puts down her cards and shifts so she's sitting with her back against the wall. After a moment, Leonard follows suit, his shoulder just inches from hers. “You're really back,” she says, and from the corner of her eye, she sees him turn his head to look at her.

“I really am.” His voice is low, intense.

Sara breathes. It's better to get her concerns out now, right? “What are we doing, Leonard? Are we picking up where we left off? Acting like we haven't spent years apart where I thought you were dead?”

“I _thought_ we were playing cards.” She turns to look at him, silently asking him to be serious, and he sighs before looking away. “Can we do both? It was a long time. I've changed, you've changed.” He meets her eyes again. “Doesn't mean I'm not wondering about our future, now that I'm back.”

“I need some time,” she answers. “You probably do, too. But then maybe…” Sara hesitates. This is too quick, is moving too fast, but it's just all so familiar and right. “Maybe if things are going okay, you can finally get around to stealing that kiss.”

His eyes are bright with interest and drop briefly to her lips. “What sort of thief would I be if I didn't?”

It's a lot, in the moment, and he's close enough that she almost leans in and takes a kiss again.

Almost.

Instead, she moves the forgotten cards out of the way, stretches out her legs, and, slowly enough that he can pull away if he wants to, scoots to the side until she can rest her head on his shoulder.

***

Leonard looks down at Sara. There's a lot he should be doing, including reconnecting with Mick and seeing firsthand that Lisa is doing well rather than taking Mick and Cisco’s reassurances.

But it's been a long day. It's been a long couple years. And now Sara is falling asleep against him, and he's pretty sure he's going to end up putting his arm around her if he doesn't get up.

Maybe that doppelganger of his is onto something with the whole touchy-feely thing.

“I'm glad you're back,” Sara murmurs, and he slides his arm behind her back as best he can without knocking her from her perch, curling a hand around her waist.

“So am I,” he answers quietly.

He tips his head backward, resting it against the wall, and closes his eyes, picturing the future, now that he's back on the Waverider. Now that he's back with Sara. A few days ago, his future looked like an endless series of portals to worlds where he didn't belong.

Now?

His future looks pretty damned good.


End file.
